w2a setup sounds time/money consuming. much better idea, but i need a heap of parts. definitely down the track though. :)
by a bit of luck, I managed to find the cooler that my setup was running on yahoo! the seller separated it from the SC kit for whatever reason, and has finally listed it. i didnt even know, but bam.. there it is!
supposedly unknown make. i couldnt care less.. i think im going to bid on it anyway.
still want an ARC 4agze one the most though. so hard to find.. :(
In other news, I've been fixing up the front of the car.
from the previous page, where the other bumper was biffed.
the bumper skin itself was okay, but i've always wanted to replace it. it had been resprayed in the past some time over the original red (poorly) which was flaking in places; and thanks to a heap of hits due to my poor driving skillz it was covered in stress cracks. a bit of flex additive wouldnt have hurt...!
SO, a few weeks back i'd tracked down another ORIGINAL red bumper.
dont know if anyone can remember, but i had a WTB for one in my sig for ages.. for an original unpainted red bar with a bit of wear. i never care how oxidized, as it just protects the paint underneath... i love it.
so just like the bar i had on the car allready (and i think the bar before!) i dragged one out from the UK. i feel sorry for the people i buy them off, as they sell for NOTHING (and they have to package it all up) - but it costs me an absolute mint to send the big bloody thing out here! so 100+ pounds in postage, plus the cost of the bar later, it arrived. air. and quick.
when it arrived, it wasnt toooo bad. it had been in storage for a long time, and had scuffs all over it in the weirdest places. bits of goo/marking/marring, but nothing that couldnt be buffed out.
worst of all was the split in the lower section i didnt know about. tad dissapointed, but its patina. what can you do..
here they are side by side:
once pulled off, i could see the damage. my ABSOLUTLEY HAGGARD reo-bar is bent and dinted all over, with a couple 30mm round rust holes in it.. its rediculous. but now had the lovely addition of being a good 2" back on the passenger side. as the impact was after the main ram-support things, it had bent around like a banana.
proceeded to then gently get my sisters 2001 RAV4, a towrope, and get to work.
managed to bend it back out to where it once was (albeit twisted). ugly, but since completley hidden, no big deal. its there to take an impact - no more.
the bumper then happily slipped over the top.. foam and all.
as you can see in the pic, its still oxidized and sad looking. but not for long! worthwhile pointing out here that I've mounted it before polishing it because it damn sure saves holding the bloody thing!
I then hit it with my trusty old random-orbital. Yellow edge pad, and a medium Menzerna polish; followed by a blue edge fine polishing pad with some high gloss menzerna polish. seriously could have grabbed other polishes/pads to make it less work or soften the step in-between.. but meh.. no biggie.
either way it end up the same; and other than the few little defects.. it turned out perfect.
not only that, it generally fits better than the other bar ever did. this is like my old old bar (and the one before that!), with somewhat flushness to the quarter panels.
colour match is as expected. theres always a good chance original toyota red will match original toyota red! theres marks all over this front end, and its mostly .01mm thick, but other than that lip its damn 23 year old paint!
I then mounted the indicators back in, and we're done for now.
I actually wandered down to my local toyota dealer this morning, and ordered the new front indicators i was after. RHS one was in melbourne, but left one (the one i really need!) is three weeks away - coming from Japan.
other than that, all good, all done. :)